I Love you, But
by mouch30
Summary: It's been many years since Twilight Sparkle first met one of her oldest friends, and after bumping into him on a normal stroll, they are reunited. But after spending a lot of time with together, she ends up falling for him!
1. Chapter 1

I Love You, But…

Chapter 1

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><p>AN: OMG new story time! i seriously have doubts on this though... this is the worst fic i've ever written (in my opinion) i will update VERY soon! Sophistication is one of my OCs, so if you don't like them. OH WELL.<p>

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><p>It was a quiet day at the Ponyville Library. Not many ponies had come by to browse Twilight Sparkle's extensive stock of scrolls and books, each lovingly organized by hoof and noted down in a special log.<p>

So, the bookworm decided to take some time off.

"Spike, I'm going for a little walk," she called out to her dragon assistant. "Take care of the place, okay? And if Rainbow Dash comes by and asks for the next Daring Do book, it's on my desk."

"Got it!" yelled Spike from upstairs, where he had just finished tidying up his little corner.

The purple unicorn trotted down the street, not really going anywhere. Maybe she would visit her friends, like Rarity, or Pinkie Pie…

Her train of thought was interrupted as she crashed into an unsuspecting pony.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry!" she said, picking herself up and rushing to help the other pony.

"No, I wasn't looking where I was going, I'm sorry," replied the pony.

Twilight looked up to find herself staring into the sap green eyes of a brown-gray pegasus with a spiky white mane. He was wearing a light-blue collared shirt with thin white stripes, and on his snout a pair of black glasses.

He stared back, mouth agape, eyes wide and surprised.

Twilight smiled nervously, not enjoying the feeling he gave her by staring at her so intently.

"Well, I got to go," she said, and quickly turned away.

_That was weird,_ she thought.

As Twilight made her way back home, she couldn't help but think about the pegasus. What was his problem? Why did he look so surprised to see her?

Twilight continued questioning herself on it throughout the day, giving little thought to anything else.

"Hey, Twi, are you okay?" asked Spike. "You haven't touched your food."

Twilight blinked and shook her head. "I'm sorry, what?" She looked down at her plate. It was her favorite dish, daisy salad with a side of tomatoes, but, like Spike had just observed, she hadn't eaten a single bite. "I just have something on my mind."

"Anything I can do to help?" Spike said, stuffing a hay fry in his mouth.

"Thank you, but I don't think there's anything you can do," Twilight smiled, and patted Spike on his head. "I think I'll have an early night." She hopped off her chair and walked towards her bedroom. She climbed the stairs towards her little indoor balcony where she kept her bed and Spike's, and nestled down into her covers.

_I'm sure that colt doesn't mean anything,_ she thought, and closed her eyes.

The next morning, Twilight woke up with a smile on her face. She had slept very well last night; the mysterious colt had slipped her mind.

She walked downstairs and prepared herself a cup of coffee. While that was brewing, she decided to read one of her favorite books, _Away in the Rain_, by M. Wisp. After finishing her coffee and putting the book safely on her desk where she could read it again, Twilight used her magic to open the door and switch the 'Closed' sign around so it now read 'Open'.

Today was the same as any other day. Very few ponies came by.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. It began to glow purple as Twilight opened it. Standing right outside her door was the pegasus from the other day.

"Oh, hello again," she said. "Welcome to Ponyville Library." She widened the door and beckoned him in. "As you can see, I've got plenty of books and scrolls to read, from fantasy to non-fiction-"

"Twilight?" the pegasus cut her off. "Twilight…Sparkle?"

"Yes?" Twilight answered.

The pegasus smiled widely, taking a few steps towards her and leaning in. At the same time, Twilight herself recoiled, lifting a hoof in the air.

"It's…it's me! Sophistication!" said the pony.

"I'm sorry, I don't recall meeting anypony named Sophistication," said Twilight, getting ready to ask him to leave. "Now, if you're not here to borrow a book…"

"Come on, we went to school together! I know it was a long time, but…we used to be friends! Really good friends, if I remember correctly. We were math partners in 2nd grade!"

"Oh!" The memories of pre-school came flooding back to Twilight as she remembered hanging out with the gray pegasus, being math buddies with him, eating lunch on the playground and reading instead of playing with the other colts and fillies. "I remember now! It's great to see you! What are you doing here in Ponyville? Didn't you graduate with a special scholarship for that private Canterlot School?"

"Yeah, I got a degree in the fine arts. I'm here visiting one of my colleagues, since we both work in the Wine Department, but I never thought I would bump into you! You don't know how much I missed you. I thought of you everyday when I left," he said, turning a light shade of pink. "I really, _really _missed you."

Twilight smiled, and walked over to give the stallion a hug. "I missed you as well."

The broke apart, gazing into each other's eyes.

"We have so much to catch up on," said Twilight. "Let's go to lunch."

"That sounds great," said Sophistication. "There's a cute little café down the road from here that looks really nice."

Sophistication and Twilight strolled towards the café, and found a nice little table away from the crowd. As soon as they sat down, a waitress came over and handed them each a menu.

"Just let me know when you're ready to order," she said, and walked off.

"I absolutely love this place," said Twilight, looking through the menu. "Last time I came here was just a few weeks ago with my friend Fluttershy, and we shared the Flower Special together."

"Let's get that then," said Sophistication, putting his down his menu. "I don't want to waste anytime when I could be talking to you." He signaled the waitress to come over, gave the order, and then turned back to Twilight.

"So, who's your colleague here?" asked Twilight.

"Well, her name is Berry Punch. Do you know her? All pink and purple?" Sophistication described her. "Anyways, she's a teacher of enology, the study of wine, and I'm visiting her to discuss viticulture because a client of mine has a huge vine yard filled with the most delicious grapes you would ever taste, and she asked me find someone who could tell her all about her vines, so I thought Berry Punch would be able to tell me a thing or two about cultivating vines."

"Client?" asked Twilight as the food arrived.

"Yes, I work for a fermentation company, but I don't do the actual fermenting, I'm just a Customer Service Specialist. That's how I got my cutie mark," and he showed Twilight his flank. His mark was a wine glass filled with red wine with a red ribbon wrapped around the stem. "But enough about me, tell me about what you've been up to."

Twilight chuckled, and took a bite out of a daisy roll. "After you left, I moved to Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, and after graduating from there, I moved into the Silver Towers, a boarding school for graduates like me. I became Princess Celestia's personal student, and before the Nightmare Moon incident, she sent me to Ponyville to learn about the magic of friendship. It turns out I was an Element of Harmony, along with five other ponies, and with that we defeated Nightmare Moon and Discord. But other than that, nothing's really going on."

Sophistication sat there for a second, and let out a burst of laughter. "You always surprise me, Twilight." He took a sip of water from his cup. "I'm so glad I found you."

"Same here," responded Twilight. She felt warmth in her heart as she looked over the colt sitting in front of her.

After they finished eating, Twilight signaled for the bill. When it came, Twilight discreetly laid out the number of bits required.

"Hey, wait! Let me pay!" said Sophistication.

"No, no, it's my treat," said Twilight.

"But a true gentlestallion always pays on a first date," smiled Sophistication. "Please, allow me, or at least we'll split it."

Twilight caved in and gave the bill to Sophistication. The bill was 32 bits, so each pony paid 16 bits.

"Care to go for a walk?" asked Twilight, praying for a yes.

"Of course," said Sophistication, stepping closer to Twilight as they walked along the path.

They spent the entire time looking back on their days in school together and laughing at all the things they did together.

"Do you remember when you were being bullied by that one colt, and then I rushed over and threw an eraser at him?" said Sophistication, wiping a tear from his eye. "He chased me all around the playground."

"I remember that," giggled Twilight. "I thought you were so brave for doing that."

"Thank you," grinned Sophistication.

Soon, Celestia lowered the sun and Luna took over, the sky turning a velvety black, and little stars began shining through.

Sophistication and Twilight walked back to the library together, and stopped at the entrance.

"I had fun," said Twilight, smiling at her friend. "How long are you staying in Ponyville?"

"I go back to Canterlot in a week," said Sophistication, looking down at his hooves. "But I'll come and visit a lot more now," he looked back up and beamed at Twilight.

There was a moment of silence between them, and Sophistication opened his mouth to say something, but Twilight was faster.

She leaned in, and kissed him right on the lips.

It was her first kiss, as well, so she didn't know what she was doing. Their lips were locked for a good three minutes, and Twilight pulled back to take a breath.

"Twilight…" murmured Sophistication.

She expected him to look at her with love in his eyes, but was instead met with eyes filled with confusion.

"I…I have to go," he mumbled, blindly walking down the path.

"But… Sophistication, what's wrong?" Twilight's voice wavered.

He looked back, looked away, and looked back again. "Um…I'm flattered you kissed me but…you should know that I _do_ have a marefriend. Sorry," and with that, he walked away.


	2. Chapter 2

I Love You, But…

Chapter 2

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><p>AN: this turned out to be quite the short story. does anyone realize i suck at writing romance? enjoy!<p>

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><p>Twilight threw herself on her bed, squeezing her eyes shut, trapping the tears that were threatening to burst out. Eventually, she couldn't take it anymore and let it all go, burying her face in her pillow, sobbing loudly.<p>

Spike crept up the stairs, carrying a tissue box and a cup of hot cocoa. "Twilight?" he said, his voice soft and quiet.

A few sniffs and coughs erupted from the unicorn. "What?"

Spike plopped himself down on her bed, setting the cup of hot chocolate aside and taking a tissue out of the box. He leaned over and wiped some tears of Twilight's face. "Twilight, don't cry. Tell me, what's wrong?"

Twilight sat up, biting her lip. "I met somepony yesterday, well, I bumped into him. It turned out to be my old friend Sophistication, so we had lunch together and we went out for a walk…but then I…I…" She covered her face with her hooves and began crying again. "I ruined everything!"

Spike put a scaly arm around her, and squeezed. "I'm sure he'll forgive you."

Twilight broke free of his hug. "You don't understand! _I_ _kissed him_!" she cried out. "And he has a marefriend! I completely obliterated our friendship! I threw a nuclear bomb right into our relationship, and now he's never going to speak to me again!" Tears continued to stream down her face. "And it's all because I thought he…liked me." A small laugh emitted from her mouth. "But then again, who would like somepony like me? I bet his marefriend is a gorgeous unicorn with a perfect body and a perfect mane. He would have never gone for a pony like me." She slid of the bed and made her way to the bathroom to take a shower.

The next morning, Twilight woke up with a headache. Crying always gave her the worst headaches, so she hardly ever did, but when she _did_ cry, she would always wake up with a pounding in her ears.

"Morning, Twi!" Spike greeted her cheerfully. "I made you some coffee, and pancakes!"

Twilight looked down at her plate to find three golden-brown pancakes. She gave Spike a tired smile. "Thank you, Spike."

She took her time eating, calculating the area of each pancake so she could cut them into straight, accurate strips, then poured the same amount of maple syrup on each strip, making sure to coat each piece in delicious sugary syrup. She sipped her coffee after every two bites, washing down the crumbs with the same volume of coffee every time. After finishing her breakfast, she proceeded to open her library, and wait.

Today was actually quite a busy day. Many ponies came by to ask if Twilight had received the new _Harry Trotter_ novel (which, of course, she had), Bon Bon came by and bought the entire _Unwrapped_ Anthology, and Noteworthy borrowed her entire collection of _Musical Theories_. It was a good day, and she had earned quite a lot of bits, so she decided to treat herself to one of Pinkie Pie's delicious cupcakes.

She walked to Sugar Cube Corner with a smile on her face, intent of forgetting about the little Sophistication incident.

"HIIIIIIII Twilight," Pinkie cheered as she spotted her best friend walk in. Pinkie hopped to Twilight. "How are you?"

"Hi Pinkie," said Twilight. "I'm well, thank you. How are you?"

"Oh, I'm spectacular today!" said Pinkie, throwing her hooves in the air. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I just wanted to buy one of your cupcakes," explained Twilight.

"Great! Let me show you my latest invention," Pinkie dragged Twilight towards the counter and pulled out the most beautiful cupcake ever. It was red velvet, with smooth pink icing and delicately piped hearts all over it. It was sprinkled with little silver balls, and gave off the most delectable fragrance.

"Oh, Pinkie, that's beautiful," said Twilight, drooling a bit.

"You like it? I made it for that cute couple over there," Pinkie pointed towards a table.

Twilight looked towards the table.

Time stopped.

Her heart began to beat faster.

There was Sophistication…with his marefriend. She had a crystal blue coat, wide sapphire eyes, and a long flowing dark navy mane. Her cutie mark was a newspaper with a microphone.

Sophistication looked frustrated, almost agitated, and his marefriend seemed to be very angry and hurt. They both stopped talking and looked at her. Sophistication's expression softened as he gazed at her, but his marefriend was an entirely different story. She flashed daggers at Twilight, her mouth in a grimace, her beautiful face set in a disgusting scowl.

Twilight gulped. "Um, thanks Pinkie, but I have to leave now." Tears were on the verge of flowing again, and she didn't want to break down in public. Not only had she ruined her and Sophistication's relationship, but she also ruined his relationship with his marefriend! She was on a roll this week! She ran away from the bakery, tears blinding her as she tried to make it back to her library. She heard the distant sound of wings flapping, and then came to a complete stop when Sophistication landed right in front of her.

"Twilight!" he said. "Twilight, stop!"

"What?" she said, turning her head away.

"Why are you crying?" he asked, a hint of sadness in his tone.

"As if you need to be told!" exploded Twilight. "First, I ruin our friendship. Then, I ruin your relationship with your marefriend. I can't seem to stop hurting you! All because…because…"

"Because what, Twilight?" prompted Sophistication, taking a step closer.

"Because I…"

"Yes, Twilight? Say it."

"I…I love you."

Twilight did not expect Sophistication's reaction to those three little words. After they had escaped from her mouth, she had found herself on the ground, with Sophistication's lips locked on hers. After breaking the kiss, he let her stand up.

"What was that for?" asked Twilight.

"Twilight, last night, when you kissed me, I began to rethink my life. I remembered all those times we had together, and I just felt something burst in my heart. I realized, it wasn't _her_ that I loved," he stressed on the 'her' to imply his marefriend, "But _you_. When you saw us today, I was just trying to break up with her…"

"So you could be with me?" whimpered Twilight.

"Yes. So we could be together, because I love you too."

Twilight pecked Sophistication on the cheek, then moved in to nuzzle him. "I'm so…happy now," she whispered.

"So am I, Twilight. So am I."

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><p>For the rest of the week, Sophistication and Twilight were completely inseparable. They went out to eat a lot, but most of the time had a romantic at-home dinner together. Sophistication visited her library every day; leaving only to meet up with Berry Punch and to do some work. Twilight's library had a more cheerful atmosphere, and the ponies coming in could definitely feel it as well.<p>

But all good things do come to an end, and before the lovebirds knew it, it was the end of the week, and Sophistication was getting ready to leave. He had slept over at Twilight's last night, for he was leaving early in the morning and couldn't bear to part without saying good-bye to his special somepony.

"I'll come back as soon as I can," Sophistication kissed Twilight on the forehead.

"And _I'll_ come by and visit _you_," said Twilight; using the sappy voice she sometimes spoke in when she was around Sophistication.

Their lips met (yet again) and they shared a passionate smooch.

"Ahem," Spike coughed. "Do you guys mind stopping that?"

Sophistication and Twilight laughed together as they walked towards the train station. Sophistication had two saddlebags slung over his shoulders, and Twilight was carrying his briefcase. They arrived at the station just in time for the train to arrive.

"All aboard! The train to Canterlot is leaving in a few moments!" yelled the train operator.

"Well, this is good-bye for now," said Sophistication.

"We'll see each other soon," replied Twilight, but her eyes began to fill up.

"All aboard the Canterlot express!"

"I have to go," sighed Sophistication. He gave Twilight one last affectionate kiss, grabbed his briefcase from her and hopped onto the train. After a few seconds, his head popped out from an open window and he waved a hoof. "I love you!" he cried.

"I love you too!" Twilight cried back, running to keep up with the train. When she ran out of platform and the train was nearly out of sight, she stopped and waved crazily, tears dropping down onto the wooden platform as she stared into the horizon. "I love you too."


End file.
